1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of firearms. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an ambidextrous charging handle adaptable to be used with a firearm, such as the AR-15, M4, and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
The AR-15 is based on the AR-10, which was designed by Eugene Stoner, Robert Fremont, and L. James Sullivan of the Fairchild ArmaLite Corporation in 1957. Today, there are numerous variants of the AR-15 that are manufactured by a number of companies. The AR-15 and its various related derivative platforms are used by civilians, law enforcement personnel, and military forces around the world.
Various firearms, such as, for example, the AR-15 or M-4 style firearms utilize a charging handle, located at top and substantially parallel to the bolt of the firearm, to manipulate the bolt and open the firearm's action and/or manually load a cartridge into the firearm's chamber.
The typical charging handle comprises an elongate portion of material that extends from a substantially T-shaped rear handle to a forward end adapted to engage the firearms bolt.
A spring-loaded, pivoting latch includes a hook or claw that engages a recess in the upper receiver of the firearm, to maintain the charging handle in a closed position relative to the upper receiver of the firearm. The pivoting latch is typically located on the left side of the charging handle and when the spring bias of the pivoting latch is overcome, by a user pulling reward on the left side of the charging handle, engaging the pivoting latch, the latch pivots to an unlocked position and allows the user to pull the charging handle rearward to manipulate the bolt.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles, or the like, which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.